March focuses on the over 5.2 million Americans with intellectual and developmental disabilities, including 67,000 in Oregon. Multnomah County’s I/DD Division is working to ensure these individuals can live full, integrated lives in society. Multnomah County's I/DD Division is known for providing case management, abuse investigation, and linking clients and families to Medicaid-funded services, among other supports.
The division also tackled emergency preparedness, distributing over 3,600 seven-day emergency kits in the past year to I/DD clients. This initiative, accounting for severe weather events from December 2023, aimed to provide essentials for clients living a life where "every day is an emergency," as Sara Ashback, an emergency preparedness program specialist, put it. To bolster this effort, events from October 2024 to February 2025 were held weekly to distribute various emergency supplies and power stations. Clients had the option to pick up their kits via convenient drive-through or walk-up stations, according to Multnomah County.
Grants from the Office of Developmental Disabilities Services and funds from the American Rescue Plan Act contributed to the kits that included food, water, and emergency tools. "Individuals or families may use cell phones and tablets to help regulate behavior because it can help with focus or communication. When those tablets and things lose their charge, that family is in utter chaos during a power outage," explained Glorie Gary, a project manager, emphasizing the kits' significance for the I/DD community, as per a Multnomah County press release.
Moreover, the I/DD division has taken steps to teach clients how to respond to disasters, hosting in-person and virtual emergency response training sessions. These aimed not just to hand out kits but "to build relationships with community partners and to start conversations about emergency preparedness," said Ashback in a statement obtained by Multnomah County news. As the month continues, a Housing Equity Panel is also set to be hosted at Holgate Public Library on Wednesday to inform individuals about housing laws and advocacy.
The capacity to connect reaches beyond just material aid. The distribution of kits and the provision of knowledge and training are also vehicles for showing care and concern for the challenges faced by those with I/DD. As part of Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month, Multnomah County celebrates the deep commitment of those helping individuals to navigate the every day and the extraordinary, knowing all too well that there are people within the government who care. "But the people behind this work are deeply committed and just putting smiles on people’s faces, helping people and building relationships is so important," Gary told Multnomah County News.
